I am going to be working some overtime and I am really glad about it. I don't get alot and I could use the money. I of course want to meet our deadlines and meet the customers expectations, and there are other people who could do the same thing, but they aren't offering. A person I work with said that we have differnt ideas about work. She will work as long as she needs and even without pay and she is proud of it. I am a person who works to get paid. While I believe that everyone at one time or another invests in the company by working a small amount of time off the clock on occasion, overall we work to... get paid. I worked overtime and paid for a car with cash a few years ago. She is also going to buy a car for cash with the money she made working (and geting paid) for her overtime which she could not have done without being paid. Where is that line drawn?

Your Response

You are right. There is a limit or a scale to balance. But why we work is also important.<br /><br />I explain it like this: I work for my family. I happen to have to do that work at this company at this location. I would work MUCH LESS if I did not have the responsibilities to others that I do. That doesn't mean I would spend my life on the sofa. It would free me up to volunteer more and do more of the things that I like.

Your Response

You are investing in your family so that is totally understandable and when I wasn't working I was volunteering :) Taking an active roll in the community is very important and I do consider that an investment and not a job :) so I would never expect pay.

Your Response

When I was young I worked over 60 hrs a week on a flat salary because i wanted to see positive results. When the company went under and most managers got laid off, I realized what a waste of my time that was. Today I am a mother and I work for the experience to get me into a better paying job and of course to survive. When the clock hits closing time - I spring up and go home. You have to have balance in your life.

Your Response

I worked for a large corporation for 17 years and I can't count the times when some manager or other had lost their job after putting so many hours they were endangering their health and relationships. I became a temp and truly understood the meaning of throw-away people. I have taken away alot of knowledge and experience and that is how I got the job I have now. So, they may have made money off of my back, but I used that to my benefit and took every opportunity to take back from them.